Expansible roll and support thereof



P 1962 R. w. YOUNG ETAL 3,055,605

EXPANSIBLE ROLL AND SUPPORT THEREOF Filed July 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet l96 Eger Wvun f dfi nzfzzz enZezy p 1962 R. w. YOUNG ETAL 3,055,605

EXPANSIBLE ROLL AND SUPPORT THEREOF Filed July 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Sept. 25, 1962 R. w. YOUNG ETA]. 3,055,605

EXPANSIBLE ROLL AND SUPPORT THEREOF 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 15, 1959p 1962 R. w. YOUNG ETAL 3,055,605

EXPANSIBLE ROLL AND SUPPORT THEREOF Filed July 15, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4age?" M51407 c/okzz 1127m 60y United States Patent ()ffice 3,055,605Patented Sept. 25, 1962 Filed July 15, 1959, Ser. No. 828,431 4 Claims.01. 242-56.4)

-'Ihis invention relates to a slitter-rewinder machine for slitting andrewinding webs of flexible sheet material such as paper, plastic, andthe like, and more particularly to a novel telescopically expansiblerider roll and trunnion arm support therefore, for use in suchslitter-rewinder machines.

In machines of the class to which this invention relates, a web offlexible material is unwound from a supply roll and slit longitudinallythereof into a plurality of ribbons of desired width, which ribbons arerewound upon individual cores. It has been found that it is Virtuallyimpossible to rewind the individual ribbons on adjacent and abuttingcores due to the interleaving of the adjoining ribbons, which results ina rigid connection between the ribbons. In order to avoid such problems,the individual ribbons are separated before being rewound upon therespective cores. One means for separating the ribbons includestransversely spreading the adjacent ribbons, as by the use of bowedrolls, whereby they may be wound upon coaxial cores located at spacedintervals. A second common means involves mounting the rewind rolls foradjacent ribbons at spaced, or separated, parallel axes whereby onlyalternate, and not adjacent ribbons are wound upon coaxial cores. Theinvention as disclosed is arranged for use on a slitterrewinder machineutilizing the last-mentioned means for separating the ribbons prior torewinding the same.

In order to remove any wrinkles formed in the ribbons being wound uponthe rewind rolls, it is common practice to pass the ribbons over a.pivotally mounted roll which rests upon the ribbon being wound on thesaid rewind rolls, such pivotally mounted roll being known as a riderroll since it rides on the expanding roll of ribbon being wound upon therewind roll. In prior art machines, elongated rider rolls are utilized,which rolls are adapted to engage a plurality of ribbons being woundupon coaxial rewind rolls. It has been found, however, that such anarrangement is not always satisfactory since ribbons being wound on therewind rolls do not increase at a uniform rate between rolls due tovarious reasons such as the non-uniformity of thickness of the Web beingslit, for example, and other factors beyond the control of the machineoperator. Thus, it will be understood that where a single rider roll isutilized for a plurality of rewind rolls, the rider roll may functionproperly to remove the wrinkles from one or more of the ribbons, but notall. In accordance with this invention, individual rider rolls areutilized for the individual ribbons being rewound. Each rider rollfunctions independently of every other rider roll whereby each riderroll is capable of proper operation to remove the wrinkles from theassociated ribbon.

Often, slitter-rewinder machines are adapted to slit the web of materialinto ribbons of any desired width. The novel expansible riding roll andtrunnion arm arrangements of this invention are easily adapted for usein such machines to accommodate various widths of ribbon. The trunnionarms which support the rider roll are easily adjusted longitudinally ofthe rider roll to support rider rolls of desired length, and the lengthof the rider roll is easily adjusted by means of a novel telescopicarrangement; the trunnion arm and rider roll thereby offering a maximumof flexibility for use with ribbons of any width.

An object of this invention is the provision of a web slitter-rewinder,machine employing a novel rider roll arrangement in which individual andindependent rider rolls are associated with the individual ribbons beingrewound whereby the rewound ribbons are smoothly wound.

An object of this invention is the provision of a simple, economical andrugged rider roll and a pivotal trunnion arm support therefor.

An object of this invention is the provision of a novel expansible riderroll for use with ribbons of various widths.

An object of this invention is the provision of a novel trunnion arm forthe support of a rider roll, which aim is adjustably positioned along asupporting member, is easily removed from said member, and whichincludes a resiliently biased locking pin for supporting the arm in araised position.

These and other objects and advantages Will become apparent from thefollowing description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It willbe understood, however, that the drawings are for purposes ofillustration and are not to be construed as defining the scope or limitsof the invention, reference being had for the latter purpose to theappended claims.

In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts inthe several views:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary diagrammatic broken view of aslitter-rewincler machine embodying the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a semi-diagrammatic front view of the machine;

FIGURE 3 is a side view of a trunnion arm made in accordance with thisinvention;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side view of a trunnion arm shown mounted on ashaft and supported in a raised position; and

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of an expansible rider rollmade in accordance with this invention.

Reference is first made to FIGURES 1 and 2 wherein there is shown amachine for slitting and rewinding a web or sheet, designated 10, comingfrom any suitable supply source, not shown, and traveling in thedirection of the arrows included in FIGURE 1. The web 10 passes over adriven roll 11 and a backing roll 12 associated with cutting wheels 12.The cutting wheels are carried on bifurcated arms fragmentarily shown inthe drawings; the slitting mechanism forming no part of this invention.The ribbons issuing from the cutting mechanism and designated 1tla-10fin FIGURE 2 for clarity, pass over a second driven roll 13, from whichroll adjacent ribbons of material pass in different directions tothereby separate the same. Specifically, the ribbons 10a, 10c and 10epass over an idler roll 16 and individual rotatable rider rolls 17mounted at the ends of trunnion arms 19 which arms are normallypivotally supported on a shaft 21, while the ribbons 10b, 10d and 10pass over the individual rider rolls 17 rotatably mounted at the ends oftrunnion arms 19 pivotally supported on a shaft which is of identicalconstruction as the shaft 21, but which is designated 21 for purposes ofdescription. The ribbons from the rider rolls are wound upon cores, orrewind rolls, 22 (FIGURE 1) which are mounted on rotatable shafts, ormandrels, 23, 23 and which are rotatably driven by such shafts by meansof suitable slipclutch arrangements not shown in the drawings. It willbe understood that the rider rolls rest upon the ribbon wound upon thecores 22 and are pivoted in a counter-clockwise direction about theshafts 21 and 21' (as viewed in FIGURE 1) as the ribbon material isadded to the said rolls 22. The weight of the rider rolls and associatedtrunnion arms, together with the winding tension on the ribbons providedby the rotated cores 22 combine in serving to maintain contact betweenthe rider roll and the ribbons being wound on the cores 22. As seen inFIGURE 2, movement of the trunnion arms 19 in a direction longitudinallyof the shafts 21 and 21 is prevented by the use of collar members 24secured to the said shafts adjacent the trunnion arms. The collars arenot, however, in tight frictional engagement with the trunnion armssince pivotal movement of such arms is necessary. Further, as seen inFIGURE 2, the rolls 11, 12 and 13 and the shafts 21, 21' and 23 aresupported between the machine side walls 28, 28 with the shafts 21 and21' being fixed and the rolls 11, 12 and 13 and shafts 23 beingrotatably supported therebetween. Suitable means, not shown, drive therolls 11, 12 and 13 and the shafts, or mandrels, 23.

One important feature of this invention involves the use of individualrider rolls 17 for the individual rewind rolls. Each rider roll ismounted in a pair of pivotable trunnion arms 19 whereby each rider rolloperates independently of every other such roll. Regardless ofdifferences in the individual ribbons, due to non-uniformities in theweb it), and the like, the rider roll associated with each ribbonmaintains contact with the associated rewind roll whereby each ribbon issmoothly wound upon its core 22.

Other important features of the invention involve the construction ofthe trunnion arms 19 and the rider rolls 17, respectively. The detailedconstruction of the trunnion arms will'first be described with referenceto FIG- URE 3. As seen in FIGURE 3, the trunnion arm 19 comprises anelongated arm having a clamp member 28 formed at one end thereof forclamping support of the rider roll 17, not shown in FIGURE 3. The clampmember 28 is formed by a hole 29 and a slot 31 extending from the end ofthe arm to the hole. A cap screw 32, when tightened, serves to clamp therider roll in the hole 29 in a conventional manner. The other end of thetrunnion arm 19 includes a hole 33 therein for pivotal mounting of thearm on the shaft 21. It will be noted that the shaft 21 is formed withlongitudinally extending and diametrically opposed flats 34, 34 thereon.A slot 36 is formed in the trunnion arm which extends from the hole 33to the end of the arm, which slot is of slightly greater width than thenormal distance between flats 34 whereby the arm may be removed from theshaft by simply rotating the arm to a position wherein the slot sidesare in alignment with the flats, and then sliding the arm off the shaft.The desirability of being able to remove and replace trunnion arms withsuch case will become apparent when it is understood that the number ofribbons into which a Web is slit in most slitting machines is not fixedbut, instead, can be changed by the removal or addition of cuttingwheels 12 to meet the varying requirements. The number of necessaryriding rolls and trunnion arms for the support thereof obviously variesin accordance with the number of ribbons being cut, and it is thereforehighly advantageous to be able to add and remove trunnion arms with aminimum of work and time. With the trunnion arm and shaft arrangement ofthis invention, the trunnion arms are quickly and easily removed fromand replaced on the said shaft.

When the cores 22 are wound full, it is necessary to stop the machineoperation, remove the full cores and replace the same with unwoundcores. In accordance with this invention, a novel arrangement isemployed at the pivotal end of the trunnion arms for maintaining thearms in a raised position during the changing of cores in the mandrel23. As seen in FIGURE 3, a slot 39 is formed in the trunnion arm aspaced distance from the hole 33, and a hole 41 is formed between thesaid slot 39 and hole 33. The hole 41 is formed with an enlargeddiameter portion at the end adjacent the hole 33 whereby a shoulder 42is formed intermediate the ends of the hole 41. A rod 44 having anenlarged plunger 46 secured at one end thereof and .a handle 47 at theother end thereof, extends into the hole 41. A compression spring 48 ispositioned between the plunger 46 and shoulder 42 in the hole 41 tothereby bias the plunger 46 outwardly of the hole 41; the movement ofthe plunger to the left, as viewed in FIGURE 3, being limited byengagement of the handle 47 with the bottom of the slot 39. In normaloperation of the machine while the ribbons Illa-10f are being rewoundupon the cores 22, the trunnion arms 19 execute a pivotal movement aboutthe shafts 21 and 21', during which movement the plunger 46 engages thearcuate portion of the said shafts 21, 21. Such engagement, obviously,does not interfere with the normal pivotal motion of the trunnion arms.It will be noted that a longitudinally extending groove 49 is formed inthe shaft 21 (FIGURE 3) intermediate the flats 34 thereon, which grooveis of sufficient width to accommodate the plunger 46. When the cores 22are wound full of the ribbons, the pivotal movement of the trunnion armrotates the plunger into a position adjacent the groove 49. When it isdesired to replace the cores, the trunnion arms are manually pivoted toa position wherein the plungers 49 snap into engagement with the groove,as shown in FIGURE 4. After the cores are replaced, the handles 47 arepulled outwardly to disengage the plunger from the groove, and thetrunnion arms pivoted to a position wherein the rider rolls 17 againengage the rewind rolls. It will be apparent that the above-describedlocking mechanism functions at any longitudinal position of the trunnionarm along the shaft 21.

Sectional views of a novel longitudinally expansible rider roll of thisinvention, for use with the longitudinally adjustable trunnion arms 19,are shown in FIGURES 1 and 5 of the drawings. Referring, then, toFIGURES 1 and 5, the rider roll 17 shown comprises a pair of relativelyslidably, telescopically, engaged tubular members 51 and 52. A collar53, which is of the same outside diameter as the outer tube 51, issuitably secured to the smaller tube 52 at the outer free end thereof.Bearing members 54, 54, which may be of the ball bearing type, aremounted a spaced distance from the outer free ends of the tube 51 and ofthe tube 52 on the sleeve 53. Any suitable means, notshown, may be usedto secure the inner race members of the bearings to the tube 51 andsleeve 53. The outer race members of the ball bearings 54, 54 areprovided with a radially extending annular flange 56, 56 adjacent oneend thereof. A surface tube 57, which may comprise a cardboard tube ofthe same or similar constructionas the cores 22 is mounted on the'bodyportion of the outer race members of the bearings, with the ends thereofin abutting relation With the annular flanges 56, 56. The extending endsof'the tube 51 and sleeve 53 are adapted to be clamped in the clampingmembers formed at the free end of the trunnion arms 19.

The surface rolls 57 must be at least as wide as the width of theassociated ribbon passing thereover. Since in most slitting-rewindingmachines the position and number of cutters therein is selectivelyvariable, to obtain ribbons of desired width, the rider rolls must be ofsuitable width to accommodate ribbons of such varying width. Thetrunnion arms are easily adjustable in a longitudinal direction on theshaft 21. The width of the rider rolls, for use with the trunnion armsis simply adjusted by extending or collapsing the telescopically engagedtubes 51 and 52. The surface tube 57, which is made of cardboard, orother suitable material, is easily obtained by cutting a piece of corematerial to the desired length, which tube is mounted on the bearings 54after first separating the tubes 51 and 52 and returning the same toengaged position with the tube 57 in position on the bearings.

Having now described our invention in detail, in accordance with therequirements of the patent statutes, various changes and modificationswill suggest themselves to those skilled in this art. It is intendedthat such changes and modifications shall fall within the spirit andscope of the invention as recited in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a web slitting-rewinding machine of the type wherein a web from asupply roll is slit into a plurality of ribbons and the ribbons arerewound on spaced, coaxially mounted rewind rolls, the combination of ashaft extending parallel to the rewind rolls a spaced distancetherefrom, a plurality of pairs of trunnion arms pivotally mounted onthe said shaft; a pair of telescopically disposed tubular membersextending between each pair of trunnion arms, each tubular member havingan end secured to the end of the associated trunnion member; andindividual rider rolls rotatably supported by each pair of tubularmembers; each ribbon passing over an individual rider roll to theassociated rewind roll.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1 wherein the trunnion arms arelaterally adjustable along the shaft.

3. The invention as recited in claim 1 including bearing members carriedby each of said tubular members and wherein the said rider rolls arecarried by the bearing members.

4. The invention as recited in claim 1 including means forming anelongated groove in the said shaft; individual plungers mounted on eachtrunnion arm and extending 6 through a bore formed in the arm; springmeans normally biasing each plunger toward the said shaft so that theend of the plunger is disposed within the said groove in a predeterminedrelative angular position between the trunnion arm and the shaft; andmanually-operable means for disengaging the plunger from the saidgroove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS441,476 Ford Nov. 25, 1890 641,106 Hawksworth Jan. 9, 1900 974,156 JonesNov. 1, 1910 1,066,319 Powell July 1, 1913 2,209,471 OIken et al. July30, 1940 2,460,694 Haswell Feb. 1, 1949 2,475,895 Hill July 12, 19492,593,154 Judelson Apr. 15, 1952 2,830,775 Kiesel Apr. 15, 19582,935,273 Hoefigen et a1 May 3, 1960

